Chapter 17

Dakkan

Iknew I would never forget the night in the Irri-tak shuttle. It changed everything between Sabine and me. There was no longer any hesitation in her eyes when she looked at me. No speculative glances. No guarding. She trusted me. I had new determination to get us free. I wanted to show Sabine everything my Thrail had to offer. I wanted to see her make her home with my people. I was willing to wager that she could even win over the elders, with time.

But to do that, we had to get out of here, and that meant finding our captors. I knew we were getting close. The plant life was changing. It was overwhelming in its diversity, and as we moved on, there were more and more strange and unique-looking species. I no longer had to hack our way through it. There was open space between the trees. No longer was it crowded with vines and shrubbery. We walked on packed soil, glowing with vivid moss that dotted at the base of trees. Always, the sound of a stream tinkled in the background.

I had to admit, the beauty was marvelous. It rivaled that of my own Thrail, which I loved to my very soul.

"I wish others could see this," Sabine said in wonder. Her eyes glowed as her gaze moved around in awe of everything we passed. She was careful not to touch anything. Lukan may have been brave enough to try eating some of the plants, but we were not. We were too close to risk getting sick now, even though we had consumed the last of our ration packets this morning.

It was midday when Sabine slowed her pace and tilted her head. Skrah was at its highest point in the sky. Its light dappled through translucent, colorful leaves. "Do you hear that?"

I stopped. "What do you hear?"

"It sounds like… I don't know. A mixture between chimes and a ship engine."

I wasn't sure what she meant by "chimes," but I did hear what she was referring to. "That young alien you treated yesterday made a sound," I said. "Not exactly the same, but it could be them."

"We might be closer than we thought." Her eyes went sharp on mine. "We need to be careful."

No sooner had she said those words when something dropped from an overhead tree branch. It was a creature unlike anything I'd seen so far out here. A mottled mixture of orange and purple scales, it dropped to the ground beside us and set up a series of brilliant frills around its neck and down its back. It came up no higher than my knee, but it shook its small body like a warning and opened its long, narrow snout, revealing a set of long, needle-sharp teeth.

I grabbed Sabine around the waist and yanked her backwards. I drew back my spear in preparation to run it through, but it was too fast. The small creature shot forward on four legs that had been coiled to spring, and sank its teeth into Sabine's calf.

She screamed and dropped to her knees, hands covering the bite. I threw my spear, but it sank into the ground harmlessly as the little beast that attacked my mate sprang upwards. Its bright frills acted like wings and propelled it vertically lightning fast. In a blink, it was high in the branches again, where it disappeared amongst the foliage, where it blended in.

I snarled futilely up at the branches, then fell to my knees beside my mate. "Sabine." I pried her hands off of her calf and tore off the pant leg where she had been bitten.

There were teeth marks and a gash, the length of her hand, where the serrated teeth had torn her flesh. Blood flowed thick and fast from the wound.

"It's deep," she said through clenched teeth. "I think it went into the muscle."

"I will tend your wound," I said.

Her eyes flickered to mine. "There's no power in my regenerator."

"I know." I reached for my healing pouch. "I will do it my way."

Her eyes narrowed on mine and then moved skeptically to the bag I held. "But I'm human," she said breathlessly. "Your medicine hasn't been tested on my species."

"Let me put it this way." I opened the pouch. "You're going to hold still while I treat you. You have no other option, and the ancient techniques of my Thrail are effective against wounds sustained in a hunt."

"This isn't a hunt."

"It's a hunt for our freedom, and I won't have you dying on me when I can help you."

I didn't wait for permission, and she didn't object. I laid out the contents of the bag. Small pouches, tins of ointments and of powders fell to the ground. There was one that was very effective at soothing burns and another for drawing poison from certain insect bites. Another burned away infected or rotten tissue, but I plucked out the two that I needed now.

One was a paste that was the first step in sealing a wound. I unscrewed the lid and scooped out a healthy amount on my finger. I used her pant leg, even though it wasn't terribly clean, to wipe away the blood, then smeared the paste on. "This will help slow the bleeding and block out infection. It's got antiseptic qualities." I made sure the ointment filled every puncture and gash made by the thing that bit her. Almost instantly, the bleeding slowed to a gentle seep.

She watched, curious. "What is in that?"

I rattled off herbs and one type of mineral rock that had been ground together and mixed with clarified oil of the ungo nut. "Our healers have been making this for centuries. It is an essential for any hunter leaving the Thrail for game."

"And this." I held up a pouch filled with a bright yellow powder. "This goes over it to seal it in and reduce pain. Together they form a protective layer that will keep you from infection until we're home." I sprinkled the pungent-smelling powder over the top of it. "Don't ask me what's in this. I never cared enough to ask. I just know it works."

She shivered a little bit, probably from the shock of the bite. "You've used these before?"

"Many times." I went into her backpack and pulled out one of her shirts. Again, it wouldn't meet anyone's standards for sterility, but it would have to do. I tore the shirt into strips and bound her calf.

"That was a guardian, wasn't it?" Her voice sounded a little slurred, but it was a bad bite and the medicine I treated her with was not meant for humans. It would alleviate the pain, but it could also make her sleepy. Then again, that guardian's mouth could have been laced with a toxin, like the viper's bite.

"Yes. It looked as if it was targeting us," I replied. "We must be closer than we thought."

"Help me up." She gripped my arm and put weight on her good leg to rise. "We need to keep going."

I supported much of her weight, but after only a few steps, her body slackened and her knees gave out. I caught her and held her against me.

"I'll be okay," she said in a thin voice. "I'm just feeling a little fuzzy."

I took in her ashen skin and the blue tint to her lips. "A toxin," I muttered. "I should have known."

She closed her eyes and grimaced. "It feels slow-acting. But this isn't good. I can't fix it."

Neither could I. My healers' pouch contained medicine to counteract venom, but not a synthetic toxin. I turned a stony look to the forest ahead. "But they can. And they will." I pushed the backpack off her shoulders and let it fall on the forest floor.

"No," she said weakly, reaching for the backpack.

"We'll retrieve it later," I said tightly. "I'm carrying you. I'm not carrying that."

She didn't have the energy to argue. She was slack in my arms, her breathing thinner than I would like. "I love you, Dakkan," she said. "Didn't want to tell you this way. Happened so fast…" Her eyes drifted closed. Her head fell back against my arm. "But I do. Love you, that is."

She fell unconscious. Not knowing how to help made my claws and spikes rise and my heart pound painfully with more fear than I'd known in my life. I walked swiftly, determinedly forward, leaving my spear lying beside her bag, so I had both arms to carry her.

"You will survive this, Sabine. I swear in the name of Skrah that I will not let you die."

Something looked shiny and unnaturally bright up ahead. I broke through the last wall of trees and into a wide clearing so stunning to the eyes, I had to blink in order to adjust.

If the jungle surrounding this place was beautiful, this was almost too much for the senses. Everything shimmered in multicolored iridescence. I blinked, taking in the scene in front of me. This was the nursery. A pool of opalescent water sat in the center. Quartz and silver rocks were surrounded by tall, arching trees with bark the color of burnished gold.

The young ones were here. At least fifteen of those small creatures, exactly like the one Sabine had treated for a broken leg, played here. The sounds we had heard were them. It didn't sound like laughter like Sabine and I made, but now that I could see them, the vibrations and "chimes" were clearly joyous sounds. The little ones, glowing with light that came from their very skin, danced and played, hopping in the water and spinning about.

It was a startling contrast to Sabine and me, filthy, exhausted and injured.

From a dark nook behind the pool, a creature emerged. It was incredibly tall at three times my height. Long, narrow limbs moved gracefully. Its dark blue skin reflected light like glitter. It had the same large multicolored eyes, tiny nose and mouth as the little ones running around. The blue being rose to its full, incredible height. There was something menacing about the length of its fingers, which tapered to points and were curled as if ready to strike.

There was a sudden pressure in my head. I gritted my teeth and pushed back against an intrusive feeling. It was as if someone had taken hold of my horns and was trying to pull them off my head. This had to be the telepathic creature Lukan had told us about.

A voice sounded in my head, like a murmur just out of earshot. It was a cacophony of words, spoken in languages I didn't understand, and it was all at once. I hunched my shoulders at the onslaught going on in my mind. And then, all the voices stopped and there was only one. A female voice spoke in my language. "You should not have come here, Mitran."